第80章 BOOK III.(20)

"In incalculable ages,the forward motion of the planets and their satellites will be checked by the resistance of the ether of space and the meteorites and solid matter they encounter.

Meteorites also overtake them,and,by striking them as it were in the rear,propel them,but more are encountered in front--an illustration of which you can have by walking rapidly or riding on horseback on a rainy day,in which case more drops will strike your chest than your back.The same rule applies to bodies in space,while the meteorites encountered have more effect than those following,since in one case it is the speed of the meteor minus that of the planet,and in the other the sum of the two velocities.With this checking of the forward motion,the centrifugal force decreases,and the attraction of the central body has more effect.When this takes place the planet or satellite falls slightly towards the body around which it revolves,thereby increasing its speed till the centrifugal force again balances the centripetal.This would seem to make it descend by fits and starts,but in reality the approach is nearly constant,so that the orbits are in fact slightly spiral.What is true of the planets and satellites is also true of the stars with reference to Cosmos;though many even of these have subordinate motions in their great journey.Though the satellites of the moons revolve about the primaries in orbits inclined at all kinds of angles to the planes of the ecliptics,and even the moons vary in their paths about the planets,the planets themselves revolve about the stars,like those of this system about the sun,in substantially the same plane;and what is true of the planets is even more true of the stars in their orbits about Cosmos,so that when,after incalculable ages,they do fall,they strike this monster sun at or near its equator,and not falling perpendicularly,but in a line varying but slightly from a tangent,and at terrific speed,they cause the colossus to rotate more and more rapidly on its own axis,till it must become greatly flattened at the poles,as the earth is slightly,and as Jupiter and Saturn are a good deal.Even though not all the stars are exactly in the plane of Cosmos's equator,as you can see they are not there are as many above as below it,so that the general average will be there;and as all are moving in the same direction,it is not necessary for all to strike the same line,those striking nearer the poles,where the circles are smaller,and where the surface is not being carried forward so fast by the giant's rotation,will have even more effect in increasing its speed,since it will be like attaching the driving-rods of a locomotive near the axle instead of near the circumference,and with enough power will produce even greater results.As Cosmos waxes greater from the result of these continual accretions,its attraction for the stars will increase,until those coming from the outer regions of its universe will move at such terrific speed in their spiral orbits that before coming in contact they will be almost invisible,having already absorbed all solid matter revolving about themselves.These accessions of moving matter,continually received at and near its equator,will cause Cosmos to spread out like Saturn's rings till it becomes flat,though the balance of forces will be so perfect that it is doubtful whether an animal or a man placed there would feel much change.

"But these universes--or,more accurately,divisions of the universe--already planes,though the vast surfaces are not so flat as to preclude beautiful and gently rolling slopes,are spirit-lands,and will be inhabited only by spirits.Then there are great phosphorescent areas,and the colour of the surface changes with every hour of the day,from the most brilliant crimson to the softest shade of blue,radiant with many colours that your eyes cannot now see.There are also myriads of scented streams,consisting of hundreds of different and multi-coloured liquids,each with a perfume sweeter than the most delicate flower,and pouring forth the most heavenly music as they go on their way.But be not surprised at the magnitude of the change,for is it not written in Revelation,'I saw a new heaven and a new earth;for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away'?Nor can we be surprised at vastness,sublimity,and beauty such as never was conceived of,for do we not find this in His word,'Eye hath not seen,nor ear heard,neither have entered into the heart of man,the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him'?In this blissful state,those that feared God and obeyed their consciences will live on forever;but their rest can never become stagnation,for evolution is one of the most constant laws,and never ceases,and they must always go onward and upward,unspeakably blessed by the consciences they made their rule in life,till in purity and power they shall equal or exceed the angels of their Lord in heaven.